GPS signal not found
by Darkhymns
Summary: Sans teaches Toriel how to play Pokémon Go. Papyrus' phone keeps glitching out. And Undyne's growing team is to be feared. [slight Sans/Toriel]


There was a park just by Toriel's house on the surface. A simple place with a small corner of it dedicated to swing sets, kiddy slides, and other playground equipment of the same caliber. It was also the best hotspot currently for Pokémon stops and the lures they had with them.

"Sans, I'm afraid I do not totally understand this game." Toriel scrunched her forehead as she watched her virtual Pokémon trainer walk across a broad map of her area, intersected with black lines for roads and plateaus of green for buildings and park areas. "Capturing small, helpless monsters for my personal enjoyment raises some peculiar ethical questions for me."

"it's just a game, tori." Sans gave a little tap at Toriel's phone screen, instigating it to do a 180 degree turn to have a better view of their area. "once you know the lore of it, it ain't so bad. all the pokémon and humans live together in harmony… or something like that."

Sans gave a little shrug as they entered the park, where already an assortment of humans and monsters had gathered. Some were seated underneath some trees as they stared at their phones, giving them some shade from the sun to better see by. Many had been sorted off into their own groups, but fortunately, some of these groups had a mixed number of humans and the recently released monsters, bonding over their game.

"kinda like with now, don't ya think?"

"I suppose you are right." Toriel smiled as she saw the crowds that walked around the park, which was usually quite sparse where only a family or two with their children would come visit. Now there were more kids than ever, a few young adults, as well as a few young monsters. "Although I wish they were here to enjoy the beautiful sunshine instead. Do you think they have played for more than 15 minutes? I would hope they know to take breaks…"

"hey, i'm sure they know." Sans looked toward a particular group they were heading for. "and that frisk's letting them know all about it."

"FRIENDS, I SWEAR TO YOU I WILL BE THE GREATEST POKÉMON MASTER THERE EVER WAS."

Papyrus' voice was undeniably Papyrus; loud enough to travel several kilometers away, and full of heartfelt enthusiasm. With the way the other humans and monsters didn't flinch away from his happy outburst, it was assumed that he had been here for quite a while. Along with his friends.

"Fuhuhuhu, not unless I beat you there first! Which I will!"

Undyne was grinning wickedly as she and Papyrus both held up their smartphones, searching the grassy area for virtual Pokémon that were nearby. Sans could hear their phones vibrating from where he was standing – one phone thrummed against his brother's boney hand, making a rather bone-rattling sound.

"Whoa! I found a Machop!" Undyne pointed the camera of her phone at a nearby bench. "He's mine now!"

"NYEH! WHERE IS IT? I CANNOT SEEM TO FIND HIM!" Papyrus maneuvered all over the ground, awkwardly holding up his phone to the sky. "THE GAME KEEPS YELLING AT ME AND YET I HAVE NOT FOUND THIS MAN CHOPPER."

"P-papyrus, why don't you try turning off AR mode? Y-you'll be able to see the Pokémon better that way!"

Alphys was standing right next to Frisk, with, of course, both of their phones. She seemed to be comparing her own collection of pocket monsters with Frisk's, as they both perused the other's Pokédexes.

"BUT THAT WOULD DEFEAT THE PURPOSE OF POKÉMON COLLECTING! I MUST CATCH THEM ALL IN THEIR OWN NATURAL HABITAT."

Frisk explained that Papyrus' phone's gyroscope was probably not working correctly, which may be why he was having so much trouble. Also, that plenty of other players weren't using that feature because of its issues, and that he shouldn't feel bad for doing the same.

Papyrus squinted his eye sockets. "GYRO-WHAT? BUT FRISK, I AM NOT HUNGRY RIGHT NOW."

Alphys snickered. "W-well, I can fix it for you later t-today! It shouldn't be no problem at all. It's actually quite amazing just how behind the humans are w-with their technology."

"HA! I got it!" Undyne flexed in victory as she caught her Pokémon. "30th one today! I'm on fire!"

"G-great job, Undyne!" Alphys praised her girlfriend. "I know you'll be the best out there!"

"Wouldn't have done it without ya, Alph. Not without all these sweet lures you put here."

Somehow, Alphys had put in five lure modules, all next to each other in the park. Which explained why there were so many people here in the first place.

"I'm gonna fill out this Pokédex to the max!" Undyne searched around again, stopping by shops to fill her reservoir of Pokéballs. "And mop the floor with those gym leaders!"

"AND ME AS WELL. THE GREAT POKÉMON TRAINER PAPYRUS! AND MY AMAZING TEAM OF…" He checked his phone. "PIDGEYS, SPEAROWS, RATTATAS, AND ONE SQUIRTLE."

"sounds like you got a killer team there, bro."

"SANS." Papyrus waved both his lanky arms at his brother and Toriel. "AND ASGORE'S CLONE."

"My name is-"

"IT IS ABOUT TIME YOU BOTH GOT HERE. THE POKÉMON WILL START TO BECOME QUITE IMPATIENT."

"Yeah, at this rate, you two will be slacking." Undyne smirked at Sans. "How many did you even catch today?"

"i dunno, maybe two." Sans shrugged nonchalantly. "i slept in this morning."

"UGH, SANS."

"Ha! I should've known. Here, lemme see what ya got!"

"sure, no prob." Sans flipped over his phone to Undyne, who caught it with her left hand. "still a work in progress though."

"Hehe, bet you only got your starter and a Pidgey or..." Undyne swiped away at the screen, her smirk gradually turning into a frown as she looked through Sans' game. "Wait… what the… this is all completed!? Already!?"

"hm? yea, i guess."

"But that's not even…" She scrolled through more, finding all Pokémon and no silhouettes, which should not have been possible for a two-day old game. "There's no way. What? Wait a minute!" She pointed a claw at the screen. "Is that a Cyndaquil!?"

"pretty cute, huh?"

Frisk told Sans that they shouldn't cheat at this game.

"me? never."

"Hold- hold on a moment!" Alphys took Sans' phone from Undyne, and checked it even more thoroughly than Undyne had. "W-wait.. how do… how do you have _Gen 2_ Pokémon? That hasn't even come out yet!"

"eh, wanted some more options."

"You d-didn't answer my question!" Alphys looked at the skeleton with incredulousness. "D-did you hack this?! B-but these Pokémon are not even in the code of the game! I checked!"

Sans shrugged once again. "just got lucky, i guess."

"Oh my, I do not think I fully understand what is going on, but I suppose that Sans must be quite talented."

"see? tori gets me."

"NGAAH! So dumb!" Undyne took back the phone, grimacing as she saw her road to Pokémon fame get much more difficult. "You should be _banned!"_

"wow, didn't know you were such a sore loser, undyne."

"BROTHER. I DO NOT FULLY UNDERSTAND WHAT HAS TRANSPIRED, BUT YOU SHOULD KNOW THAT ALL TRAINERS MUST OBEY THE RULES. TO GO OUTSIDE INTO THE SUNSHINE, OR THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT, AND WALK AROUND IN SMALL CIRCLES FOR HOURS ON END WITHOUT BEING AWARE OF THEIR POSSIBLY DANGEROUS SURROUNDINGS!" Papyrus smiled widely. "DO YOU WANT ME TO TEACH YOU?"

"nah, bro. i've been walking in circles plenty enough." Sans nudged Toriel, his phone already back in his hand somehow. "so, ready to catch some pocket versions of us?"

"I suppose it would not hurt." Toriel held up her phone, watching the human trainer walk through what looked like heart-shaped confetti over certain landmarks. Then her phone vibrated. "Oh! What is that?"

Sans leaned over. "heh, looks like a tauros. pretty sweet for a first sighting. must be a sign."

"Ah, like the constellation. How clever!" Toriel gazed at the Pokémon for a bit, its sprite gently bouncing up and down, and occasionally flicking its long tail. "Have I captured it yet?"

Sans grinned at her. "nah, ya gotta boop it first."

"Boop it?"

"yeah, boop it. like this." He pointed a finger at her screen and then effectively 'booped' the Tauros. The screen zoomed in, and with the phone's camera, transferred a live feed of the 'real' world.

"Oh my, I did not mean to do a video recording."

"nah, don't worry. it's just how the game works. now you gotta find your pokémon."

"I am not sure I know exactly how to…"

"don't worry, you're with a pro."

"LADY ASGORE! I BELIEVE I CAN BE OF GREAT ASSISTANCE IN HELPING YOU FIND YOUR CUDDLY MONSTROUS PARTNER. I AM ALREADY IN PROGRESS OF CAPTURING MY OWN." He held up his phone, which displayed a Pokéball half-open in the air over nothing – having effectively frozen in mid-capture. Sans didn't have the heart to tell him of that glitch.

"no need, bro. i'm already here."

"NGAAHH WHOA!" Undyne's sudden screaming nearly made everyone jump. Sans only opened his eye sockets a fraction wider. "There's a freaking Growlithe up in that tree!"

Sans tried to get back on track. "here, tori. just aim your phone all around you." He gently placed both hands on her arms, guiding her to do the motion of searching around the area. Through Toriel's phone, they had a video capture of all their friends; of Papyrus scratching his skull while staring at his phone, with Alphys gently telling him to reboot the app, and Undyne's scarily determined face as she tried to virtually 'throw' a Pokéball with all her strength at the tree. Frisk was there, too, just standing around, seemingly content.

"I believe I have found it, Sans!"

"heh, neat." And there was that bull-looking creature, seated underneath another tree. "now try and catch it."

"How do I do so?"

"see those little ball things?" He pointed at the bottom of the screen. "press on that, then flick it over to the tauros. like playing catch."

"Alright then." Toriel pressed her finger against it. It didn't register. She tried her claw, and the ball moved slightly. She then accidentally let go and the Pokéball fell away into nonexistence. "Oh no, have I lost it?"

"no sweat, ya got like 20 more. keep trying."

So she did. She lost a few more Pokéballs after some failed throws. Eventually, she finally took hold of the virtual item well enough to lift it, but then she would miss, or the Pokéball would curve all the way to the other side.

"Hm." Toriel tapped her claws against the screen once more, trying to carefully drag her Pokéball upwards, but always missing her aim. "This is quite difficult!"

"tori, you're wasting your pokéballs… here." Sans leaned up on his toes, sliding one phalange-tip on the screen. Expertly, he was able to throw the Pokéball, and catch the elusive Tauros. "it's all in the wrist."

"I suppose I must use some more practice."

"yeah, or be naturally talented like me."

Toriel smiled down at him, holding her phone in both hands. "Then I suppose you must have the… magic touch!"

"heh, ya saying i got me some magic fingers, huh?"

"Ha ha! Oh, stop it, Sans!" she teased.

"YES, BROTHER," Papyrus yelled, having overheard the conversation to his dismay. "PLEASE. STOP IT. FOR NOW AND ALL OF TIME."

"okay, okay," Sans reassured.

"Well, either way, that was certainly quite exciting. I do hope we could interact more with our little pocket friends." She checked her phone again, eyes shining at the her new, precious Tauros, as if she was mentally preparing to bake it some pies in the near future. She smiled brightly. "And his horns are so similar to mine!"

"knew you two would hit it off."

"And you, Sans? Do you have a preferred companion?"

For a moment, Sans had been about to say something rather foolish. But he thought about it, and instead went for the expected answer. "yeah. i kinda like this little guy the most." He held up his phone to show off a Cubone, a creature whose entire head was engulfed by a skull that seemed a few sizes too big.

"Oh my. I can certainly see why! That skull is then part of its body?"

"kinda. actually-" Wait, the story behind this little monster was a bit melancholy, and quite morbid. Heh, no wonder he liked it so much. "it's a scavenger. likes collecting all sorts of bones."

"Then that is why he is holding a bone club! How adorable!"

"Hey, you two!" Undyne shouted at them both to catch their attention. "We're gonna go to the ocean so we can catch some water Pokémon! I'm gonna get like, twenty Gyarados!"

"AND I WILL BE GETTING A WATER POKÉMON AS WELL! THE MOST WONDROUS LEPERS!"

"Uh, Papryus, I t-think you mean a Lapras." Alphys shifted her eyes. "R-right?"

"bro, you should get a tentacool instead."

"WHAT? WHY?"

"because they're cool."

"…STOP IT."

Frisk mentioned offhandedly that they would have to make sure to hang around at night as well, as that was apparently the time to get the ghost Pokémon.

"Yeah, I bet Napstablook's probably building up a team full of 'em," Undyne said. "I'll have to catch up to him, too!"

"Now, I would certainly love to go to the beach." Toriel nodded. "I've heard the water is lovely this time of year."

"fess up, tori. you just wanna go catch a magikarp."

"Oh, so there are carp-like pocket monsters? Are there snail ones, too?"

"yeah, actually. one of 'em also likes the water, and happens to be centuries old. i'm sure you'd like it."

"I cannot wait to see one. Though I must remember to take breaks from gaming so much."

"heh, no worry, tori. i'll make sure you won't go past the limit."

"THERE ARE SO MANY EGGS I MUST INCUBATE!" Papyrus showed off his list of said Pokémon eggs, all unhatched and full of potential. "I WILL BE A GREAT MOM TO THEM."

"Yeah, while you play mommy, I'm gonna be training my team!" Undyne promised lethally.

"M-make sure to power them up before you evolve them t-though. Then you can maximize their s-strength!"

"That's such good advice, Alphys!" With a carefree laugh, she wrapped an arm around the lizard's shoulder, bringing her close. "Let's train both our teams and become UNSTOPPABLE! TEAM VALOR HECK YEAH!"

"O-okay!"

As the group of monster friends, (and their little human friend) made their way down the sidewalk out of the park, Toriel stopped in mid-step. She creased her forehead, then smiled. "Oh, I believe I am already at the ocean!"

"WHAT?" Undyne leaned over. Sans did, too, admittedly curious.

 _GPS signal not found,_ said the letters near the top of the phone. On the screen itself, was the human avatar, looking like they were standing just over endless water. No landmarks were in sight.

"heh, looks like it's going swimmingly for you, tori. betcha you'll get that gyarados before undie here."

"HEY!" came a fishy screech.

"Why, Sans, you're being awfully sweet. Are you sure you're not just fishing for compliments?"

"course not. just saying your pokémon catching is going to be pretty stream-lined now."

"If you say so, although I do not quite sea much of these pocket monsters at the moment."

"no sweat, they're all just a little lake to the party."

"THAT ONE WAS NOT EVEN AN OCEAN-RELATED PUN."

Meanwhile, Frisk stayed silent, watching their monster friends have fun, getting ready to go to whatever Pokéstop was on the way. They were really just happy to be there.


End file.
